Cynthia Erivo has been receiving “very, very worried” messages from Ariana Grande as she balances an intense performance schedule with marathon training.
The actress, 39, who is currently starring in a one-woman production of Dracula, made the comments during an appearance on This Morning while speaking to Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, while she discussed performing 28 characters in the West End show, as well as the support she has received from her Wicked co-stars, including Ariana, Jonathan Bailey and Jeff Goldblum.
The production spans approximately 20,000 words, with Cynthia describing the demands of memorising and performing the material alongside maintaining a rigorous personal schedule.
Cynthia said: “Jeff came, Jonathan came. I think everyone’s sort of like trickling in. I got some really beautiful messages, and Jonathan is constantly texting to make sure I’m okay.
“Ari is very, very worried that I’m not resting enough, so she’s consistently texting. Jeff sent the most beautiful love letter, and he does. I, I love Jeff very, very much, and Jonathan, that everyone’s so lovely, it feels like we have a little bit of a family.”
She added: “I learn it in chunks. What you have to do is learn it with a reason. So I have to know where (the characters) are and what they’re doing and why they’re saying things, and that’s the only way I can commit it to memory. You learn it almost like a dancer.”
Cynthia also described how she integrates rehearsal into her daily routine while training for the London Marathon, aiming for a time under three hours and 30 minutes.
She said: “Whilst I’m running, I run the run lines in my head. I’m trying to make good use of every moment.”
Discussing the aftermath of each performance, Cynthia said: “There’s so much poured into it, emotionally, physically, mentally, everything is switched on. I don’t switch off at all.
“Everything is on and everything is firing all the time so that when you come off, you go, ‘Where am I? Yeah, am I again?’ And so it takes a second to just put everything back together. Yeah, it takes me a while to get to get to sleep. I don’t get sleep until like, 1am in the morning.”
